The new phone, with a slide-out gamepad and 5 megapixle camera will be ideal for gamers. YouTube

August 13, 2010

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Sony Ericsson may soon release a new smartphone for video game players. Modeled after Sony's PSP Go handheld gaming system, the development-stage device is rumored to run on Google's Android 3.0 operating system and feature a slide-out "gamepad" in place of a standard keyboard. Popular games like Call of Duty and LittleBigPlanet, will reportedly be available for download through an online store. Is making a PSP phone a good move for Sony? (Watch a CNET report about the PSP smartphone)

Sounds like a niche market: While this "seems like something a kid would love," says Seth Weintraub in Fortune, I doubt "most adults" will want "carry a joystick around on their phone all day." Replacing the keyboard with a gamepad severely "limits its use in a world where people want a device that can do it all." Perhaps "I'm not the target market for this type of device," but it doesn't seem like the PSP phone is "going to fly.""Hey kids! Sony's making an Android PSP?"

This device will probably never see the light of day: There's no doubt that "the PSP platform needs a reboot," says Ben Patterson in Yahoo! News. But this report sounds dubious. "Last we heard, Sony said it had 'no imminent plans' for a PSP 2, much less a PSP phone." And a partnership with Google would be a sharp change of directions "for Sony’s PlayStation division." A PSP phone is certainly a tantalizing prospect — but keep in mind: "It’s still only a rumor.""Will Sony Ericsson go the Android way with rumored PlayStation phone?"